Case timetable

First published: May 2013

Date

Milestone

15 June 2017

Publication of non-confidential version of infringement decision

December 2016

Infringement decision issued

February 2016 to November 2016

Consideration of parties’ written and oral representations on the statement of objections; further evidence gathering and analysis; issue of letters of facts; receipt and consideration of parties’ representations on letters of facts; decision on case outcome; preparation of decision

January 2016

Oral hearings with parties on written representations on statement of objections

November/December 2015

Receipt of written representations on the statement of objections

August 2015

Statement of objections issued

August 2014 to April 2015

Further investigation including further information requests and stakeholder meetings

August 2014

Decision on next phase of the investigation in light of evidence received to date

August 2013 to March 2014

Internal governance processes to inform next phase of the investigation

Additional time to consider parties’ representations and to decide case outcome

Issue of decision extended from August 2016 to September 2016

14 December 2015

Additional time given to the parties to submit written representations

Period for written representations extended from October to November/December 2015

Competition Appeal Tribunal decision

28 June: The CMA has sought permission to appeal against the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment of 7 June in its excessive pricing case against Pfizer and Flynn Pharma. The application for permission to appeal was made to the Tribunal although, if granted, the appeal itself would be heard in the Court of Appeal.

7 June 2018: The Competition Appeal Tribunal announced its provisional judgment in an appeal against the CMA’s infringement decision in this case. The Tribunal decided to remit the case back to the CMA for further consideration, after ruling against its finding of abuse. The CMA is considering an appeal.

Infringement decision

The CMA found that Pfizer and Flynn each abused their respective dominant positions by imposing unfair prices for phenytoin sodium capsules in the UK thereby infringing the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98) and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The CMA imposed a financial penalty of £84.2 million on Pfizer and £5.2 million on Flynn and directed both companies to reduce their prices.

Procedural Officer decisions

Penalty notice

12 April 2016: The CMA has published a notice of a penalty imposed on Pfizer under section 40A of the CA98. The CMA imposed the penalty on 31 March 2016 for a failure to comply, without reasonable excuse, with a requirement imposed on Pfizer under section 26 of CA98.

Statement of objections

6 August 2015: In May 2013, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a formal investigation into a suspected breach of competition law in relation to the price of phenytoin (an anti-epileptic drug). On 6 August 2015, the CMA issued a statement of objections alleging that certain pharmaceutical companies have infringed competition law in relation to the supply of phenytoin.

Case information

The CMA issued a statement of objections on 6 August 2015. No assumption should be made that there has been an infringement of competition law at this stage and the addressees of that statement will now have an opportunity to make written and oral representations on the statement of objections.

The CMA will consider any representations it receives from the addressees on the statement of objections before any decision is taken as to whether competition law has in fact been infringed.

Further detail of the CMA’s procedures in Competition Act 1998 cases is available in our Procedural Guidance.

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